How the incredible world of 'Fallout 4' was directly shaped by the real world Cold War

The incredible world of "Fallout 4" is a creation of Bethesda
Game Studios, a company that currently operates out of
Maryland.

But the world that "Fallout 4" is based on is pulled squarely
from an era that's long-passed: the post-World War II age of
American exceptionalism, of Cold War worries, and the "miracle"
of canned/frozen foods.

And yes, of nuclear "fallout" shelters.

It may not look familiar to you, but it probably looks pretty
familiar to your parents.

In reality, it was the Cold War: an almost 50-year period of
hostility between Western governments (primarily the US) and the
Soviet Union, played out through competition in everything from
systems of government to food distribution to armaments.

During the Cold War era,
this scene from "Fallout 4" was a constant worry on the conscious
of Americans and Russians alike.Bethesda Game Studios

My parents were born during World War II, and I grew up with
stories of "duck and
cover" being taught in schools — that's the concept of
"ducking and covering" under your desk when the nuclear bombs
hit, for those of you who've luckily never heard about it. It
wouldn't have saved many (any?) lives, but it was a normal part
of human life for a huge part of the 20th century.

There's even a (terrifying) short film that's aimed
at teaching kids the concept. It was produced by the United
States government in 1951, and stars a turtle named Bert
— check it out right
here if you're looking to get freaked out by a constant
refrain of "when the atomic bombs hit."

Everything about the style, the stilted way of speaking, the "aw
shucks" cartoon approach to teaching people about the
nuclear apocalypse — it's all spot-on with propaganda of the
Cold War era, especially the first 20 years (or so) directly
following World War II's end in 1945.

But that's not the only similarity that Bethesda Game Studios
pulled from the Cold War. A quick look through the
National Archives reveals loads of old photographs that could
be pulled directly from a "Fallout 4" photo album.

The caption on this photograph from the National Archives is too
good not to share:

Fallout shelter built by Louis Severance adjacent to his home
near Akron, Mich., includes a special ventilation and escape
hatch, an entrance to his basement, tiny kitchen, running water,
sanitary facilities, and a sleeping and living area for the
family of four. The shelter cost about $1,000. It has a 10-inch
reinforced concrete ceiling with thick earth cover and concrete
walls. Severance says, 'Ever since I was convinced what damage
H-Bombs can do, I've wanted to build the shelter. Just as with my
chicken farm, when there's a need I build it.'

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Everything from the style
of canned food to the fonts used in "Fallout 4" is pulled
straight from the post-WWII period of astronomic economic growth
in the US (think 1945 - 1965, give or take).

This woman — dressed as what can only be described as
"a dictionary definition of a 1950s American housewife" — taking
inventory of her fallout shelter's supplies looks to be pulled
directly from "Fallout 4's" in-game propaganda: